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ABC Television Network
Every network has a tent pole series, but ABC has a tent pole show runner: Shonda Rhimes. So when the network unveiled their fall 2014-2015 schedule on Tuesday, nobody was surprised to see that Thursday nights are now all Rhimes, all the time. But one person can only develop so many shows, and luckily ABC has several other series lined up to fill in the hours that aren't produced by the woman behind Grey's Anatomy and Scandal, series that include a superhero spinoff, an immortal medical examiner who solves crime, and a sitcom about how kids these days are too obsessed with technology.
With so many new shows arriving this fall, it can be hard to figure out which ones are going to be worth your time, so we've rounded up all of ABC's upcoming shows and some clips from their first episodes to save you the hassle. Although, this batch features a next seasons' Trophy Wife and a replacement for Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23, so fans of those shows might want to tread carefully to avoid further heartbreak.
Selfie What It Is: Sitcom What It's About: After a 20-something woman finds herself the subject of an embarrassing viral video, she hires an image consultant to help her rebrand herself in the real world. Who's In It: Karen Gillan and John Cho What It Sounds Like: Pygmalion for the Internet age. How Good Will It Be: The premise (and title) are pretty ridiculous, but both Gillan and Cho are charming and talented, so they might just be enough to keep the show afloat. How Long It Will Last: Like Cougar Town and Trophy Wife before it, the terrible title will be its downfall. We’ll be surprised if it gets two seasons.Airs: Mondays at 8 pm
Manhattan Love Story What It Is: Sitcom What It's About: A romantic comedy about a couple in the beginning stages of their relationship that reveals their inner thoughts as well as their actions. Who's In It: Analeigh Tipton, Jake McDorman, Jade Catta-Preta and Nicholas Wright What It Sounds Like: Peep Show meets How I Met Your Mother How Good Will It Be: McDormand has been playing the loveable jerk for years now, and Tipton is charmingly awkward, but the inner monologue shtick seems like it will get annoying very quickly. How Long It Will Last: One and done.Airs: Mondays at 8:30 pm
Forever What It Is: Drama What It's About: A medical examiner who just happens to be immortal. Who's In It: Ioan Gruffudd, Alana De La Garza and Judd Hirsch What It Sounds Like: Remember New Amsterdam? No? Well, it’s basically the same thing. How Good Will It Be: It depends on how well the show is able to integrate the issue of him immortality, but there are so many “cop with a mysterious secret” procedurals on the air right now that this one does How Long It Will Last: Unlike New Amsterdam, it will probably get a full season. Airs: Mondays at 10 pm
Black-ish What It Is: Sitcom What It's About: An upper-middle class black man struggles to raise his assimilated, color-blind kids with a sense of cultural identity. Who's In It: Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis-Ross and Laurence Fishburne What It Sounds Like: The early episodes of The Fresh Prince that were actually about something How Good Will It Be: It’s got a cast full of TV vets and Larry Wilmore behind it, but it looks a little too generic to really stand out. How Long It Will Last: Even with Wilmore leaving for the Minority Report in October, the cast should be enough to earn it a second season. Airs: Wednesdays at 9:30 pm
Christela What It Is: Sitcom What It's About: An ambitious law student is torn between her dream job and her traditional Mexican-American family. Who's In It: Christela Alonzo, Carlos Ponce, Terri Hoyos, Andrew Leeds and Sam McMurray What It Sounds Like: If Leslie Knope were a character on George Lopez How Good Will It Be: Alonzo is an accomplished comedian, which will help the show in the long run, but thus far we haven’t seen anything that’s worth getting excited over. How Long It Will Last: Probably a yearAirs: Fridays at 8:30 pm
How to Get Away With Murder What It Is: Drama What It's About: A group of law school students find themselves entangled in a real-life murder mystery. Who's In It: Viola Davis, Alfie Enoch, Liza Weil, Matt McGorry, Aja Naomi King and Michael Gaston What It Sounds Like: Legally Blonde, minus the light-hearted goofiness, plus Scandal How Good Will It Be: Like Shonda Rhimes’ other shows, it will probably be campy and over-the-top, but completely addicting nonetheless. How Long It Will Last: Again, it’s Shonda Rhimes, so at least 7 seasons.Airs: Thursdays at 10 pm, after Grey's Anatomy and Scandal
Agent Carter What It Is: Drama What It's About: A female secret agent helps to establish S.H.I.E.L.D. in the days following World War II Who's In It: Hayley Atwell What It Sounds Like: It’s an extended version of the Agent Carter short film. How Good Will It Be: Marvel’s last TV show floundered, but Peggy Carter is an established character, a fan-favorite and is played by the very talented Atwell, so things should go a lot more smoothly this time around. How Long It Will Last: Thanks to the Marvel brand, it’s guaranteed at least two seasons.Airs: Between the winter finale and spring premiere of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
ABC Television Network
Galavant What It Is: Comedy What It's About: A musical fairy tale that follow a prince’s quest for revenge on the king who stole his true love. Who's In It: Vinnie Jones, Joshua Sasse, Timothy Omundson, Mallory Jansen, Karen David and Luke Youngblood What It Sounds Like: Once Upon a Time: The Musical! How Good Will It Be: If it doesn’t get bogged down in mythology and plot complications like Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, it could be entertaining in its ridiculousness. How Long It Will Last: Well, Once Upon a Time has been on for three years and Glee has been on for five, so four seasons sounds about right. Airs: Between the winter finale and spring premiere of Once Upon a Time
Fresh Off the Boat What It Is: Sitcom What It's About: Based on the memoir by chef Eddie Huang, it follows as 12-year-old boy as he and his immigrant family adjust to life in suburban Florida. Who's In It: Randall Park, Paul Sheer, Constance Wu, and Aubrey K. Miller What It Sounds Like: Aliens in America meets The Goldbergs, but set in the 1990s How Good Will It Be: It’s written by Nahnatchka Khan, who ran Don’t Trust the B in Apt. 23, so it will probably be quirkily funny. How Long It Will Last: Like Don’t Trust the B, it will squeak its way to a second season.Airs: Midseason
Secrets and Lies What It Is: Drama What It's About: A man discovers the body of his neighbor’s son in the woods, sending the town into a tailspin that will reveal everyone’s hidden secrets. Who's In It: Ryan Phillipe, KaDee Strickland, Natalie Martinez, Clifton Collins Jr. and Juliette Lewis What It Sounds Like: Broadchurch, minus David Tennant, with a touch of Revenge. How Good Will It Be: It’s a pretty generic premise, but the cast is good, so like most of ABC’s dramas, you will become addicted to it but you won’t tell anybody about it. How Long It Will Last: It will either be cancelled in the middle of the first season, like Hostages, or it will run for at least four seasons. Airs: Midseason
American Crime What It Is: Drama What It's About: After a couple are attacked in their home, racial tensions are stirred up in a small California community. Who's In It: Felicity Huffman, Timothy Hutton, W. Earl Brown, Richard Cabral, Benito Martinez and Penelope Anne Miller What It Sounds Like: Crash: The TV Series How Good Will It Be: It’s a bit of a complicated topic for ABC's brand of soap-y drama, so we don't see things working out. How Long It Will Last: Cancelled after one season.Airs: Midseason
The Whispers What It Is: Drama What It's About: Aliens have invaded the earth by inhabiting the bodies of children. Who's In It: Lily Rabe, Barry Sloane and Milo Ventimiglia What It Sounds Like: The exact plot of Torchwood: Children of Earth, minus both Peter Capaldi and John Barrowman How Good Will It Be: It’s got a solid cast behind it, but the premise has been done before – and done really well – so we don’t have high hopes. How Long It Will Last: Well, Resurection got a second season, so this probably will too.Airs: Midseason
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DreamWorks
For the bulk of every Rocky and Bullwinkle episode, moose and squirrel would engage in high concept escapades that satirized geopolitics, contemporary cinema, and the very fabrics of the human condition. With all of that to work with, there's no excuse for why the pair and their Soviet nemeses haven't gotten a decent movie adaptation. But the ingenious Mr. Peabody and his faithful boy Sherman are another story, intercut between Rocky and Bullwinkle segments to teach kids brief history lessons and toss in a nearly lethal dose of puns. Their stories and relationship were much simpler, which means that bringing their shtick to the big screen would entail a lot more invention — always risky when you're dealing with precious material.
For the most part, Mr. Peabody &amp; Sherman handles the regeneration of its heroes aptly, allowing for emotionally substance in their unique father-son relationship and all the difficulties inherent therein. The story is no subtle metaphor for the difficulties surrounding gay adoption, with society decreeing that a dog, no matter how hyper-intelligent, cannot be a suitable father. The central plot has Peabody hosting a party for a disapproving child services agent and the parents of a young girl with whom 7-year-old Sherman had a schoolyard spat, all in order to prove himself a suitable dad. Of course, the WABAC comes into play when the tots take it for a spin, forcing Peabody to rush to their rescue.
Getting down to personals, we also see the left brain-heavy Peabody struggle with being father Sherman deserves. The bulk of the emotional marks are hit as we learn just how much Peabody cares for Sherman, and just how hard it has been to accept that his only family is growing up and changing.
DreamWorks
But more successful than the new is the film's handling of the old — the material that Peabody and Sherman purists will adore. They travel back in time via the WABAC Machine to Ancient Egypt, the Renaissance, and the Trojan War, and 18th Century France, explaining the cultural backdrop and historical significance of the settings and characters they happen upon, all with that irreverent (but no longer racist) flare that the old cartoons enjoyed. And oh... the puns.
Mr. Peabody &amp; Sherman is a f**king treasure trove of some of the most amazingly bad puns in recent cinema. This effort alone will leave you in awe.
The film does unravel in its final act, bringing the science-fiction of time travel a little too close to the forefront and dropping the ball on a good deal of its emotional groundwork. What seemed to be substantial building blocks do not pay off in the way we might, as scholars of animated family cinema, have anticipated, leaving the movie with an unfinished feeling.
But all in all, it's a bright, compassionate, reasonably educational, and occasionally funny if not altogether worthy tribute to an old favorite. And since we don't have our own WABAC machine to return to a time of regularly scheduled Peabody and Sherman cartoons, this will do okay for now.
If nothing else, it's worth your time for the puns.
3/5
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FX Networks
Warning: Major Justified spoilers lie ahead!
We're in the fifth season of Justified, and this is possibly the darkest that we've seen Raylan Givens descend. The most recent episode saw him get slugged by Art Mullen, his own Chief Marshal, for his implicitness in the death of Nicky Augustine (Mike O'Malley). He's really been walking the line of lawlessness and hiding behind his shield. On top of that, he's been a terrible father to his recently born daughter, not even going to visit her in person, instead relying on video chat with his ex-wife Winona to see the baby on camera.
It's a terribly complicated situation (of course, "complicated" is the word that people often use to describe him), made worse by the fact that Raylan seems to also live by a code of drawing a gun first and asking questions later. I think that's what we call a dichotomy, folks.
The problem is that Givens has authority issues that stem from the fact that his own father, the late and unlamented Arlo Givens (Raymond J. Barry), was a real rat bastard. He was a conniving man who would have probably sold his own son into slavery if he could have. Now, the only anchor of any kind for Givens is Mullen, who is this close to retiring. In TV or movieland, mention of retirement from the field of law enforcement is pretty much foreshadowing for possible impending and grisly death. If Mullen were to die, Givens, who is not the most tethered man to begin with, might just completely become unmoored. Add the fact that Givens has been thinking about dying in Harlan for a long time... think way back to the second season when he was at his stepmother Helen's funeral and he saw his own gravestone on the family plot of land. He's seemingly resigned to the fact that he'll "never leave Harlan alive."
The whole abuse of authority is really coming a head this season. Raylan was in a showdown with Hot Rod Dunham (Mickey Jones), a Dixie Mafia head and he said that he'd shoot him and his cronies... and then to cement his threat, he held up his Marshals Star and said, "This will make it all legal." The deputy marshal has been making his own rules for a very long time, from the first day that we met him in Miami in the first episode of the first season. Remember that? He sat across from Tommy Bucks, a drug cartel runner and a man whom Givens had given 24 hours to vacate the city, in an outdoor cafe. Obviously, Bucks had chosen to ignore that edict (and Givens made him pay... mortally) right then and there in the cafe. The Marshals office has given him as much leeway as possible, but how much rope can the man get around his neck before he actually starts gagging and choking?
Raylan hasn't been lucky at all in the love department, having seen his wife leave him not once but twice. She also called him "the angriest man I've ever seen." Add this to the fact that Ava Crowder is now engaged to his frenemy Boyd, and that another potential romantic partnerwound up being a grifter who stole a lot of his money. Now, Raylan is in a somewhat shaky relationship with a social worker named Alison Brander (Amy Smart), who has a penchant for pot and could be another case of trouble for Givens. The funny thing is that Brander is the one who summed up Givens quite well:
"You're the bravest person I know. You'd go running into a burning building to save someone. I also think you're the one setting the building on fire."
We're waiting to see how right she is.
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FX Networks
There were two storylines going on in this episode: one was with Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) trying to get Loretta McCready (Kaitlyn Dever - returning to the show that gave her a big break) and the other was Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) scraping money together so that he could get his fiancee, Ava Crowder (Joelle Carter), out of jail. Things seemed to play out with more urgency in this episode, given the news that there would only be one more season after this.
The episode opened in Tennessee with a pot dealer being beaten by two of his cohorts (played by Steve Harris and his brother Wood) due to his being shorted on a pickup of dope from two kids in Lexington, Kentucky. "Hot Rod" Dunham (played by Mickey Jones in a very different role than in his Home Improvement days) came and told the two thugs to take care of the situation. After Dunham left, the thugs filled the third with enough lead for a pencil factory.
Lee Paxton (Sam Anderson) was in a coma after being brutally beaten by Boyd. Mooney (William Gregory Lee), a cop who had it out for Boyd, got Paxton's wife, Mara (Karolina Wydra) to say that it was him, but she recanted when she went to Boyd's bar for a visual confirmation ... which alerted the slender criminal that he hadn't finished the job earlier.
Givens, after confiscating items - including a really nice Mercedes - from someone who laundered money for the Detroit mob, went to see McCready in jail after she had been caught selling marijuana to a cop's kid. He left her in the cell to stay overnight and then brushed off her boyfriend, Derrick. As he was leaving the courthoue, he ran into Alison (Amy Smart), McCready's social worker. She flirted heavily with him and then reamed him out for making McCready stay in the cell. Givens, who viewed himself as a big brother figure to McCready, decided he was going to go talk to Derrick and convince him to break up with McCready. Boyd went and talked to Mara and tried to suss out why she hadn't given him up. She said she wanted the money that Boyd had mentioned before so that she could go home. When he said he couldn't get it quickly, she basically insinuated she was blackmailing them.
Givens saw a truck with Tennessee plates outside Derrick's house and found the guys from Dunham's crew beating him up (Gee ... so THEY were the kids who had shorted Dunham's people). Givens intimidated them out of the place and then told him break up with McCready. Outside, he arranged a date with Alison. Slick, playa.
Boyd and Wynn Duffy (Jere Burns) were trying to deal with a possible insurrection among his dealers. Duffy had to field the questions first and one of the dealers was mouthing off at Duffy, which is never a wise thing. Boyd, who showed up late due to his meeting with Mara, assured them that they would get a shipment in a day and a half.
At the Marshals office, Givens talked about Sammy Tonin with Art Mullen (Nick Searcy, who got a lot more screen time this episode than the premiere), He also arranged to be able to stay at the home of the money launderer, given that it was now federal property. Once the meeting was over, Givens found McCready waiting and she told him that her boyfriend had disappeared. Turned out the Tennessee Duo had got their hands on him and were having him dig up the money that he and McCready embezzled. They decided it was going to be his grave. Givens showed up at the nick of time with a shovel to whack Steve Harris' character in the head. Once the situation was in hand, he found out that Derrick was tangled up with Hot Rod.
Mara got pulled over and intimidated at gunpoint by Mooney who said that he was going to arrest her for trying to kill her husband unless she brought Crowder in.
Givens met with Dunham, who had done business with Arlo, Givens' late father. Givens laid it out: the Tennessee people were to not come into Harlan again and they were to leave McCready alone. Dunham tried to put fear in the marshal, but he was having none of it. Givens then drove McCready and Waters to a corner, kicked Waters out and McCready decided to stay with Givens. Givens drove all night and dropped her off at her home but not before finding out she had actually moved the money and played him so that he would investigate everything.
Poor Dewey Crowe (Damon Herriman), he got interrupted again in his possible fun times with his hookers. This time it was his cousin Darryl (Michael Rapaport), who had come to town, and Dewey was none too happy to see him as evidenced by his pained expression when Darryl hugged him.
Alison and Givens were having wine and she told the lawman she wasn't going to jump in bed with him. Givens asked her to go bowling with him.
Paxton woke up with a grunt ... though it wasn't certain if he was cognizant.
Boyd found his shipment had been hit and all the people involved laying around dead on the road. He was impassive and told his men to clean it up. He seemed calm, but he could be very close to unraveling.
Best lines
"You mean to say you're not crooked? Just incompetent?" -- Dunham to his soon-to-be-doomed drug dealer
"Are you being funny? Because I can't tell anymore." -- Rachel Brooks (Erica Tazel) to Givens
"My general rule is, you keep talking, I put you in the trunk." -- Givens to the Harris brothers
"In other words ... I'll kill four of you before you clear your weapons and I'll take my chances with the other two. And you see this star? That's going to make it legal." -- Givens to Dunham and his crew
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Lions Gate via Everett Collection
When we last left our heroes, they had conquered all opponents in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, returned home to their newly refurbished living quarters in District 12, and fallen haplessly to the cannibalism of PTSD. And now we're back! Hitching our wagons once again to laconic Katniss Everdeen and her sweet-natured, just-for-the-camera boyfriend Peeta Mellark as they gear up for a second go at the Capitol's killing fields.
But hold your horses — there's a good hour and a half before we step back into the arena. However, the time spent with Katniss and Peeta before the announcement that they'll be competing again for the ceremonial Quarter Quell does not drag. In fact, it's got some of the film franchise's most interesting commentary about celebrity, reality television, and the media so far, well outweighing the merit of The Hunger Games' satire on the subject matter by having Katniss struggle with her responsibilities as Panem's idol. Does she abide by the command of status quo, delighting in the public's applause for her and keeping them complacently saturated with her smiles and curtsies? Or does Katniss hold three fingers high in opposition to the machine into which she has been thrown? It's a quarrel that the real Jennifer Lawrence would handle with a castigation of the media and a joke about sandwiches, or something... but her stakes are, admittedly, much lower. Harvey Weinstein isn't threatening to kill her secret boyfriend.
Through this chapter, Katniss also grapples with a more personal warfare: her devotion to Gale (despite her inability to commit to the idea of love) and her family, her complicated, moralistic affection for Peeta, her remorse over losing Rue, and her agonizing desire to flee the eye of the public and the Capitol. Oftentimes, Katniss' depression and guilty conscience transcends the bounds of sappy. Her soap opera scenes with a soot-covered Gale really push the limits, saved if only by the undeniable grace and charisma of star Lawrence at every step along the way of this film. So it's sappy, but never too sappy.
In fact, Catching Fire is a masterpiece of pushing limits as far as they'll extend before the point of diminishing returns. Director Francis Lawrence maintains an ambiance that lends to emotional investment but never imposes too much realism as to drip into territories of grit. All of Catching Fire lives in a dreamlike state, a stark contrast to Hunger Games' guttural, grimacing quality that robbed it of the life force Suzanne Collins pumped into her first novel.
Once we get to the thunderdome, our engines are effectively revved for the "fun part." Katniss, Peeta, and their array of allies and enemies traverse a nightmare course that seems perfectly suited for a videogame spin-off. At this point, we've spent just enough time with the secondary characters to grow a bit fond of them — deliberately obnoxious Finnick, jarringly provocative Johanna, offbeat geeks Beedee and Wiress — but not quite enough to dissolve the mystery surrounding any of them or their true intentions (which become more and more enigmatic as the film progresses). We only need adhere to Katniss and Peeta once tossed in the pit of doom that is the 75th Hunger Games arena, but finding real characters in the other tributes makes for a far more fun round of extreme manhunt.
But Catching Fire doesn't vie for anything particularly grand. It entertains and engages, having fun with and anchoring weight to its characters and circumstances, but stays within the expected confines of what a Hunger Games movie can be. It's a good one, but without shooting for succinctly interesting or surprising work with Katniss and her relationships or taking a stab at anything but the obvious in terms of sending up the militant tyrannical autocracy, it never even closes in on the possibility of being a great one.
3.5/5
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Soon there may be more Star Wars movies than there are black holes near Kessel. On Feb. 5, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed what the company had already suggested back when it acquired Lucasfilm for $4.3 billion in October: that there will be more Star Wars movies than just Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, and these will be films that'll focus on George Lucas' beloved characters beyond the Skywalker family. Today, an unnamed source told EW that Lucasfilm is planning standalone movies about Boba Fett and the early days of Han Solo, respectively. The Boba Fett movie doesn't come as a shock, considering how beloved he is among the fans, but the Solo rumor is surprising given that it would require Lucasfilm to recast Harrison Ford's iconic role and also that the studio has been reluctant to explore younger versions of the character.
He was originally slated to appear as a 10-year-old in Revenge of the Sith, but that idea was nixed. Nor has he ever appeared on The Clone Wars TV series. Also, by default a "Young Han Solo" movie would be a prequel, and, well, we know some fans have strong feelings about anything related to that word.
The fact is, the news of a Young Han Solo movie is still just a rumor. Just like the Yoda movie. Just like the idea that Zack Snyder is directing a Star Wars remake of Seven Samurai. But that hasn't stopped us from imagining what exactly a flick about the smuggler's early days would look like.
So rather than just idly speculate, we turned to a guy who's had a lot of experience writing Han Solo: author Timothy Zahn, whose most recent novel, Star Wars: Scoundrels (out in hardcover), is an Ocean's 11-style heist thriller centered on the scruffy nerf herder himself.
What challenges would a new screenwriter face in trying to portray the Millennium Falcon's captain? What could we expect from a pre-A New Hope presentation of the character? For that matter, what's the difference between writing the Han of Scoundrels, set around the time of A New Hope, and the Han of Zahn's most famous books, the Thrawn Trilogy? And what other characters does Zahn hope will get the standalone Star Wars movie treatment? Here's what the author had to say.
Hollywood.com: First of all, none of this has been confirmed by Disney or Lucasfilm, and I’m not looking to you at all to confirm it. I’m just interested in your perspective as a Star Wars author, and even more importantly, as a Star Wars fan, on the rumor today that the first two standalone Star Wars movies will be about Young Han Solo and Boba Fett respectively.
Timothy Zahn: All of this is at the rumor stage of course, but, the fact is, I would like to see more Star Wars beyond the core saga. I’d like more Star Wars TV, and certainly more Star Wars books. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens. The Galaxy Far, Far Away is impossibly huge with story ideas and possibilities.
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HW: If a Young Han Solo movie is ever made, what do you think is important to look for in whoever’s cast in the role?
TZ: I presume any actor who looks like a young Harrison Ford would get it as long as he gets the attitude correct. However, personally, I would look more for the attitude than how close he would look to a young Harrison Ford.
HW: That’s kind of like what Lucasfilm was thinking when they cast River Phoenix as a 13-year-old Indy in Last Crusade. I mean, he looks nothing like Harrison Ford, but he does have the attitude.
TZ: Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. I would probably go with what Lucas did originally. Maybe not pick complete unknowns for these movies but not cast anybody really well known either. Someone who has enough acting experience that you know going in he can pull off the role, but not somebody who is a big-name draw all by themselves.
HW: Not like, say, Daniel Craig as Boba Fett or whatever.
TZ: No. Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford had been in movies before Star Wars, but they weren’t all that well known yet. Bringing fresh faces to any of these big parts I think would be a good move. Those movies launched various careers.
The key for me is not so much getting the individual actor correct as getting the chemistry between the actors. That’s something Lucas did beautifully in the classic trilogy. Han, Luke, and Leia…the chemistry works perfectly. Roddenberry also pulled it off with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. That kind of casting is an art more than a science. And a lot more important than “Does this person look like a young Harrison Ford?"
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HW: What for you was the biggest challenge in writing Han Solo?
TZ: Just getting the attitude correct, depending on what era he’s in. He becomes a lot more responsible in the Expanded Universe stories after the events of Return of the Jedi. He was a little more self-centered before that, but with hints of the loyalty, the willingness to step up if the cause is right, the concern he has for the people he cares about, that we’ll see even more of later. But getting his attitude, his voice, his swagger correct on paper is tough.
With a lot of that, I think whoever plays young Han, if this actually happens, can get by just by watching Harrison Ford in the movies. How Ford speaks, the little smirks, the lopsided grin, the twinkle in his eye, the sense of humor, the feeling that he will do whatever it takes to get it done. Think about how Josh Brolin played young Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black III and absolutely nailed it perfectly: the gestures, the voice, everything. If you can find someone with that level of ability, you’ve got your young Han Solo.
HW: Is there a difference between the way you wrote Han in Scoundrels as opposed to the way you wrote him in the Thrawn Trilogy or Hand of Thrawn Duology?
TZ: Oh yeah, he’s much more mature in the later books. He’s taken on more responsibility. He still chafes at it at times. But he does the jobs that need to be done. He’s more aware of what’s at stake, what the consequences could be if he succeeds or fails. And that’s because he has a family at that point, which brings a whole new set of responsibilities with it.
In Scoundrels on the other hand, since that’s set right after A New Hope, he’s much more footloose and fancy free. But even then you can see that once he’s assembled the team he’s working with, he’s not going to abandon them. The seeds of “Responsible Han” are already there. But he would deny it probably. He would say, “I’m loyal to Chewie, and that’s it.” But his actions are leading toward the Han who will park the Millennium Falcon with its back to Yavin’s sun just in case he needs to step in and help Luke take on the Death Star. Just in case he’s needed.
He’s not going to stick his neck out…but if he’s needed, he’ll be there. So he’s much more the rogue, much more about looking out for No. 1 in the early books, but he’s certainly not an amoral, “me first and only” type. Which is why you care about him and want him to succeed.
HW: What other characters from the movies would you like to see get the movie spinoff treatment?
TZ: Lando is an obvious one. You could do a lot with Lando during the time leading up to The Empire Strikes Back. If we’re going post-Jedi era I would frankly like to see Wedge put together Rogue Squadron. I think you could have a whole series of Rogue Squadron movies that would be great. Wedge is peripheral, but he is very popular and rightfully so. Who else helps take out two Death Stars?
You could even do an X-Wing TV show focused on Rogue Squadron that, just like the books, would be peripheral to the main Skywalker-Solo saga. That means you could introduce a lot of new characters anchored by Wedge. You could make wonderful stuff out of the X-Wing books.
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HW: The X-Wing Series is a major favorite of mine. Speaking of casting, did you ever envision an actor playing Thrawn?
TZ: I get asked this a lot, but as with all of these casting questions I don’t see my characters in terms of what they look like as much as their attitude, their personality, their response to a given situation. So for Thrawn you’d have the dignity, the intelligence, the fairly unemotional personality. Get an actor who can do that, then with the blue makeup and red contact lenses, you'd probably have Thrawn. If I were casting I would watch expressions, listen to the voice, but not really care about what he looks like. I guess this means I’d be lousy in casting because they’d all look good to me.
Follow Christian Blauvelt on Twitter @Ctblauvelt
[Photo Credits: Lucasfilm, Random House]
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This week sees the release of Skyfall, the 23rd outing for one of blockbuster cinema's most famous characters: James Bond.
But let's say you've never seen a James Bond movie. It's nothing to be embarrassed about — in fact, pretending you know something Bond might even be more offensive to the aficionado. We here at Hollywood.com feel your pain, but want to help. Here is our simple guide to the James Bond franchise that should help you understand a little about why people are so obsessed with the half century-old spy franchise, and perhaps, even get you interested enough to watch one too:
Okay, who is this James Bond I keep hearing about?
He's Agent 007, member of the British Secret Service.
But who is he?
Ah. The deep version. Well, as we learn in the last Bond outing Skyfall, Bond didn't have an easy childhood (telling you more would be a big spoilery no-no). But until 2012, it's never been a defining characteristic of the secret agent with a license to kill. He's always been just removed enough from reality to do whatever it takes to complete a mission.
Did you say "license to kill?"
That's right. Bond's Double-0 status gives him the authority to take his PPK pistol and pop one in a nefarious thug. Grim, but that's the job.
That doesn't sound entertaining as much as horrifying.
Luckily, a great Bond movie never gets so serious that the idea of taking out bad guys leaves you with a bad moral aftertaste. Author Ian Fleming, a former British secret serviceman himself, created Bond to be the ultimate debonaire. He jets off to exotic lands for his missions, sleeps with beautiful women, utilizes the spiffiest new gadgetry, and always saves the day. And FYI: he takes his martinis shaken, not stirred.
Okay, that sounds a little less horrifying.
Did I mention he routinely drives a pimped out Aston Martin DB5? He routinely drives a pimped out Aston Martin DB5.
Fancy. Who pays for all this stuff?
Technically, the British government. Bond isn't Batman — he may be the one throwing a criminal mastermind off the side of a building or defusing a bomb just in the nick of time, but he's never alone. Back at home base, Bond as a team of elites guiding him: M, the mastermind of the MI6 operation; Q, the gadget extraordinaire who can turn any mild-mannered object into a tool of destruction; and Moneypenny, the flirtatious office manager who always has the right intel at the right time.
I'm still grieving from the Revolutionary War and this whole "Bond" thing sounds awfully British.
Don't worry. For a Yankee who sees Bond as a franchise that's drowning in a spot of tea, Fleming wrote in Felix Leiter, a CIA agent who pops up to help Bond every now and then. The kind of help that can put 32 million francs in the spy's pocket when he's gambling against international terrorists (like in Casino Royale).
So why don't I remember ever seeing James Bond in theaters, DVD, or on a dusty VHS?
Because there isn't actually a movie called James Bond. It all started with Dr. No in 1962, the first adaptation of Fleming's series from franchise masterminds Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. It took a long time for someone to take a chance on James Bond as a character, people never really understanding the qualities that were important to making him thrive on screen. Then, like magic, it all came together thanks to the animal magnetism of Sean Connery, the first big screen 007.
Sean Who?
Let's see... if you don't know Sean Connery as Bond, maybe you remember him as Indiana Jones' Dad in The Last Crusade, Jim Malone in The Untouchables, the bad guy in the TV adapted spy adventure The Avengers, or the S&amp;M looking hero of Zardoz?
Rings a bell, but I just Googled "James Bond" and it comes up with a picture of that guy from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
That's because Connery only played James Bond from 1962 to 1967 (and a one-off return in 1971 for Diamonds Are Forever). Connery helped define the character of James Bond in the beginning of the franchise's existence. He got the humor, got the action, got the style. He could beat up a guy in a close-quarters fist fight (From Russia With Love) and make brow sweat look cool. On the other hand, he could also find himself strapped to a table, about to be cut by a laser, and never lose his cool. His Bond established the character as humanly superhuman. But the reason we're still talking about Bond 50 years after the first movie is because the franchise has continually recast 007. Between Connery's penultimate and final Bond movies, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever, the first Bond replacement was found: George Lazenby.
Never heard of him.
Lazenby only starred in a single Bond movie: On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1969. He didn't click with the vision the producers had in mind and was quickly replaced. Although if you dare to go and investigate, he's actually quite good. In a rare moment of drama, Lazenby's 007 witnesses the death of his new wife (yes, at some point he actually hung around a woman long enough to fall in love). Heavy.
And then came the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo guy, right?
Do you know how time works? No, next to fill Bond's shoes was Roger Moore, an older Bond with a whole lot of charm. With less emphasis on the physical aspects that helped Connery become an icon, Moore's string of films played up the comedy. The only way you can take 007 into space (Moonraker) or dress him up like a clown (Octopussy) is to have a wink-wink approach. That was Moore's contribution to the series.
And then came the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo guy.
What? No! Then came Timothy Dalton who picked up the series in the '80s. A serious British thespian who wanted to transform Bond into a gritty killer worthy of the Cold War conflict, Dalton turned The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill into two notable, yet underappreciated franchise installments. He was ahead of his time, leaving the Roger Moore humor at the door and opting for bloodshed and drama.
And then... came the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo guy?
Nope. Pierce Brosnan was the next in line after Dalton, finding a balance between the modern interpretation and the cartoonish fun more common in Moore's Bond films. With Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day, Bond went toe-to-toe with big budget action movies, and in turn, amped up the set pieces with wild stunts and gadgets (in Die Another Day, Bond surfs a tsunami then outdrives a space laser with an invisible car).
And then came then The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo guy.
It had to come true eventually. The "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo guy" is Daniel Craig, and after a lengthy casting process — with names like Clive Owen and Henry Cavill up for the part — relative unknown Craig nabbed the part. He's been doing the gritty, realistic, and blonde-topped version of Bond since 2006's Casino Royale.
If Bond has been a spy for 50 years, who has he been fighting this whole time? Lex Luthor? Sauron? The Volturi?
Bond's villainous rogue's gallery has been mostly comprised of random evildoers. There's the bullion-obssesed Auric Goldfinger and his hat-throwing sidekick Oddjob (Goldfinger), the deadly assassin Scaramanga (The Man with the Golden Gun), Christopher Walken's psycho businessman Max Zorin (A View to Kill), Robert Davi's too-real-for-comfort drug cartel leader Franz Sanchez (Licence to Kill), scorned MI6 agent Alec Trevelyan (GoldenEye), and oil maven Elektra King (whose boyfriend Renard has a bullet slowly burrowing into his brain) — just to name a few.
What, so no continuity?
You know what continuity is?
Someone mentioned the word once in an article about Marvel superhero movies.
Well don't worry too much — the magic of new villains creates a standalone (and enjoyable adventure) every time. That said, Bond has had continuity in the past. Blofeld, the bald-headed, cat-stroking villain who has inspired both Dr. Evil and Claw from Inspector Gadget, was a reoccurring adversary for 007 for years. Instead of engaging Bond in fisticuffs (where the spy's license to kill would likely end in his demise), Blofeld wisely orchestrated much of the terror, pulling strings for members of his organization, SPECTRE, who carried out the deadly plots of From Russia with Love, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and Diamonds Are Forever. Many thought the modern Bond movies may find a SPECTRE-like groove with the inclusion of QUANTUM in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
You have a fondness for all things Bond. But why should I actually take the plunge? I need something worth munching popcorn to.
Here's what you can expect from a Bond movie: everything and nothing. This is a franchise that's followed its lead character as he escaped KGB while riding a cello case down a snowy mountain, killed a guy with a zamboni, chased down an airplane on horseback, twirled a dance partner into an incoming bullet, self-defibrillated himself to stop a deadly poison, two-wheeled a mac truck to avoid a missile, and shot a guy with a harpoon mid-makeout session. The series is nothing but eclectic. It helps to know where the series is coming from if (or should I say, when) you decide to dive in yourself, but the beautiful thing about Bond is that with each passing movie, it never repeats.
Everything makes sense now. Except for those crazy opening music sequences.
I can't explain the artistic wonderment of a naked women dancing to A-ha. That's just something you have to feel out yourself.
Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches
[Photo Credit: Sony Pictures]
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Only six actors have played James Bond, but there are as many opinions about each one as women Bond has slept with over the years. I'm not here to debate who is the best, who is the worst, who wore his tuxedo best, and which one had the nicest thatch of chest hair. (For the record, Lazenby, definitely.) I'm here to tell you about yourself. What does your favorite Bond say about you? Yes, each Bond attracts a type, and based on your selection of which secret agent you would like to guard your secrets, we can learn a lot about you. Find out more about yourself below.
Sean Connery Active Years: 1961-1971 Number of Movies: Six What He Says About You: You fetishize things from the past. It's not only nostalgia for things in your childhood, but you make a big deal about getting artisanal pickles and whiskey with only one giant ice cube. You love Mad Men mostly for the clothes and the furniture, even though you don't understand what is going on. Even though there are newer, better cell phones on the market, you still cling to your RAZR because it makes you feel especially cool. You have been to a farmer's market and carry one of those reusable bags that zips up into a little pouch. You believe in the horoscope. You have taken Viagra non-recreationally. George Lazenby Active Years: 1969 Number of Movies: One What He Says About You: You consider yourself either a non-conformist or an aesthete. If you think you're a non-conformist, you're not really different than anyone else, especially your friends. It's just that you're trying so hard to be different that you come off as wacky. If you are an aesthete, you probably don't have a lot of money, but you have really good taste. If only that were a job onto itself. You own a tuxedo shirt (or a blouse that looks like one) though you don't have many occasions to wear it. In fact, you probably spend too much on clothing. You like your steak medium rare, you are curious about Crossfit, and you unironically hunt for foods with antioxidants. Roger Moore Active Years: 1973-1985 Number of Movies: Seven What He Says About You: You are your nieces' and nephews' favorite uncle, even if they don't get all of your jokes. That's because most of your jokes are pretty lame. You own a lot of graphic T-shirts, many of them with catchphrases popularized by movies or TV shows. Your taste in music is generally s**tty, even though you continue to proselytize for Rush against the rest of the world's admonitions. You enjoy a hobby that is both obscure to the world, but intense for practitioners, like poetry, cabaret, or magic. You like Family Guy and Grace Jones, even though she would hate you for liking Family Guy. Timothy Dalton Active Years: 1987-1989 Number of Movies: Two What He Says About You: You are a ghost. You are figure of the imagination. You are a unicorn, a Tooth Fairy, an upstanding member of the Lohan clan. You do not exist. Pierce Brosnan Active Years: 1998-2002 Number of Movies: Four What He Says About You: You have read and enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey. The last time you got really, really drunk was when you went to a Neil Diamond concert with your girlfriends and you felt like crap for three days. You told your kids it was the flu, and they were embarrassed of you like they always are. You are an excellent cook and have the best collection of yoga pants of anyone in your neighborhood, even if you don't do yoga as often as you'd like. You drink mostly white wine and you're finally getting over your crush on George Clooney. Daniel Craig Active Years: 2006-Present Number of Movies: Three (so far) What He Says About You: Your high school sweetheart treated you like crap and you've never quite gotten over it. Now the guys you like are all kind of jerks or douchebags, but that makes you like them even more. Yes, that means you are probably gay or a woman, and you hate board shorts and guys who don't tend to their body hair, but you won't call it "manscaping" because you don't want to sound like an idiot. If you're a straight guy (and there is nothing wrong with that) you have been described as a "metrosexual" by the annoying lady in your office. You don't like to cry at movies, though you sometime do and hide it from people. You go to the gym regularly and go commando. You shave your pubic area and you spend way too much money on Apple products. Follow Brian Moylan on Twitter @BrianJMoylan [Photo Credit: United Artists (2), MGM (3), Columbia Pictures] More: Idris Elba as James Bond: The Right Move for 007 James Bond Turns 50: Why the Franchise Should Never End 'Skyfall' Trailer: What James Bond Learned From Harry Potter From Our Partners:New ‘Star Wars VII’: What to Expect (Moviefone) Don’t Fly! Ridiculously Bad Movie Pilots(Moviefone)